Brother History

At your side - for 50 years

Brother is a world wide electronics and manufacturing company.

Originally founded 100 years ago in Nagoya, Japan, Brother has a rich history in Europe that stretches back 50 years.

The Brother group delivers products and services to customers all over the world with 17 production sites (incl. four factories of Brother Industries, Ltd.) and 52 sales sites in 44 countries and regions of the world (as of April 2013).

Brother has been operating in Europe since 1958 and is a member of the Brother Global Group.Today, the line of products includes not only sewing machines for home and industrial use but also machine tools and information and communication equipment from Brother’s Printing & Solutions Business- Printers, All in one Machines, Fax Machines, Label Printers & Scanners together with Brother original supplies and accessories.

European Vision 21 commits Brother to strive to become a Unified World Class sales and marketing organisation taking pride in bringing unique products to market and to practise “At your side” in our daily operations.

Brother first established in Europe

The European Economic Community had only come into being the year before when France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg signed the Treaty of Rome. Recognizing and responding to this was an extremely important step for Brother's development and growth

Jones Sewing Machines was well established as Britain's premier brand, but was suffering from lack of investment and development. This acquisition allowed Brother to rapidly establish itself within the UK.

Brother produces the world's first high speed dot-matrix printer

This product, designed by CDCC and built in Brother factories, led to Brother's decision to diversify its product offering into office technology. This proved instrumental in Brother becoming the company it is today.

Brother's first electronic typewriter

Following the decision to diversify, Brother's electronic typewriters rapidly gained world-wide acceptance and fuelled major growth and recognition of Brother as a serious contender in office technology.

Brother's first fax machine

The fax machine was recognized as the fundamental communication device in the office of the time. Brother developed products that were small, efficient and most of all very competitive. Fax contributed greatly to the company's ever expanding product range.

Brother's first laser printer

Laser printing was establishing as the printing technology of the moment and Brother was able to develop its own high speed products for the office market. Today, Brother is a world class producer of these products.

Brother's first labelling machine

Proving that Brother has the capability for true innovation, it released new labelling technology based on an original Brother concept. This initial innovation resulted in a whole system of labelling products that produce some of the most durable labels in the world today.

Brother's first laser multifunction machine

Continuing its line of world first technologies, the company made a significant breakthrough in integrating multiple functions into one machine with its first laser multifunction printer. Based on an existing laser printer, Brother added scanning, faxing, phone and many others functions too. This became the new benchmark for Brother's competitors and spawned an entirely new product category.

Brother's first inkjet multifunction machine

Brother emulated it success with laser multifunction to inkjet technology. This resulted in many products that were smaller, quieter, more colourful, but just as functional as the laser machines.

Brother's first self-contained mobile printer

This miniaturized product was (and still is) the only one of its kind in the world to be so small yet so capable. It now forms the printing resource for many large organizations for whom mobility is essential, from the British Transport Police to Hilarys Blinds.

Brother's first RFID label printer

A true 21st century breakthrough, based on Brother's existing labeling experience, the RL-700S adds Radio Frequency Identification tags to the company's label range. This technology, normally costing thousands of pounds to implement can be realized for a fraction of the cost with Brother's latest technological development.